Yarn stacking device for knitting machines



Dec. 3, 1968 A. ABOWITZ 3,413,$26

YARN STACKING DEVICE FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed April 4, 1966 P 36 HG.2 E

INVENTOR. ALEXANDER ABOJITZ ATTORNEY Unite States Patent 0 3,413,826YARN STACKENG DEVICE FOR KNITTTNG l /IACHINES Alexander Abowitz, 3386 E.Olympic, Los Angeles, Calif. 90023 Filed Apr. 4, 1966, Ser. No. 548,1737 Claims. (Cl. 66-8) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention permitsany number of cones of yarn to be stacked one on top of the other on therotating stand of a complex knitting or sewing machine so that by tyingor pig tailing the ends of one cone to the beginning of the cone below,the yarn capacity of the knitting or sewing machine can be increased.This invention comprises assemblies including extension rods andsteadying surface members adjustably mounted on the extension rods.These surface members engage and grip the inner surfaces of the stackedcones of yarn. In this way any number of cones of yarn can be stackedone on top of the other while the adjustably mounted steadying surfacemembers in each assembly engage the inner surface of each cone of yarnand holds the cones steady during the rotation of the stand on which thestacked cones of yarn are mounted.

This invention relates generally to knitting machines and, moreparticularly, to a yarn stacking device for knitting machines having arotating yarn support platform or a platform subject to vibration.

Knitting machines are complex mechanisms which are provided withnumerous knitting needles and platforms for carrying many (often inexcess of sixty) windings of yarn. Yarn used with knitting machines isgenerally wound on a tubular support and the support is frequently,although not always, conical in shape. Consequently, the windings ofyarn wound on a conical tubular support are often referred to as conesof yarn.

These cones of yarn are each mounted on fixed pins or rods supported ona base member, and the base members in some machines are all connectedtogether and rotate around the axis of the knitting machine. Inaddition, the rate of use of these various cones of yarn differs widely,so that for each run of work, some cones of yarn are used up much fasterthan other cones.

The yarn from all the cones are connected to separate knitting needlesin the knitting machine so that in use, the knitting needles are allmaintained in tension. If one of the cones of yarn should give outduring the operation of the machine, the pattern of the fabric would beaffected and the tension on the knitting needles relaxed. When thetension on the knitting needles is relaxed, continued operation of theknitting machine causes great damage to the knitting machine, resultingin extensive and expensive shut-down time while the machine is beingrepaired.

Some knitting machines are provided with electrical or mechanicalstop-motion devices for turning the knitting machine ofl? when any coneof yarn runs out. However, it is not desirable to rely too much on thesedevices because the stop-motion devices sometimes become inoperative dueto fleece or other foreign matter which hold or interfere with thecontacting points used in stopping the machine. In addition, suchmachines are quite expensive because of the large number of cones ofyarn which must be controlled. Furthermore, even when the knittingmachine shut-down device has shut down a knitting machine when a cone ofyarn runs out, considercan 3,4133% Patented Dec. 3, 1%68 ableunproductive time must be spent in rethreading the machine. To preventthis from happening during a run, it is necessary to have employeesstand around to keep a close watch on the knitting machine. This,however, is expensive because it ties up labor in unproductive Work.

To reduce the necessity of having persons keep a close Watch on theknitting machine, particularly during long runs, devices have been madefor stacking cones of yarn, one on top of the other. The stackingdevices heretofore made were unsatisfactory because they were either tooexpensive to make or they did not hold the stacked cones securely andbecause they had a limited yarn stacking capacity. Furthermore,vibration and the centrifugal forces caused by the rotation of thecircular stands around the axis of the knitting machine created problemsof stability. The windings or cones of yarn on a rotating stand of acircular knitting machine, or on a machine subject to vibration must befirmly mounted to prevent them from rotating on the pin or rods on whichthe cones of yarn are placed. If the windings of yarn are not heldfirmly enough, they could rotate on the pins causing the yarn to twistaround the pins so that the yarn would be torn and the machine wouldhave to be rethreaded. It is apparent, therefore, that it would bedesirable to provide a yarn stacking device for stacking and firmlyholding windings of yarn, one on top of the other on the stand of acircular knitting machine or on the stand of knitting machines subjectto substantial vibration.

Another problem associated with knitting machines is caused by the factthat the cones of yarn are not used up at the same rate. Consequently,it would be desirable to be able to load the knitting machine so thatthe cones of yarn which are used up the fastest are much thicker thanother cones. However, the space between the yarn supporting pins on theknittting machines may not be large enough to accommodate the thickercones in side by side relationship. For these reasons, it is apparentthat to provide the extra space necessary to accommodate these thickercones, some knitting machines were designed with very large horizontallyextending yarn support stands. However, this consumed valuable plantfloor space. In addition, by resorting to a larger yarn stand, thecentrifugal forces acting on the yarn support rods in rotating theknitting machines were substantially increased. To prevent these forcesfrom throwing the cones of yarn off the yarn support rods, the yarnsupport rods had to be inclined inwardly. However, this created problemsbecause the inclination of the cones of yarn created angle problems withthe yarn which introduced the likelihood of yarn tear.

It is apparent that these difficulties with the larger knitting machinescould be overcome by stacking the larger cones of yarn in verticallystaggered relationship. In this way, the cones of yarn could be mountedvertically, thus eliminating the problems caused by centrifugal forceand the horizontal dimensions of the knitting machine could be reduced,thus saving valuable floor space in the plant.

What is needed, therefore, and comprises an important object of thisinvention is to provide a combined yarn stacking and yarn positioningdevice whereby the cones of yarn can be stacked, one on top of theother, or positioned so that adjacent windings of yarn may be mounted invertically staggered relationship with respect to each other.

This, and other objects of this invention, will become more apparentwhen better understood in the light of the accompanying specificationand drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 shows a plurality of cones of yarn stacked and firmly held, oneon top of the other.

FIGURE 2 shows the structure of the extendible yarn supports.

FIGURE 3 shows an elevated sectional view of a sleeve provided withintegrally attached arms.

FIGURE 4 shows the use of the extendi'ble yarn supports for holdingwindings of yarn in vertically staggered relationship.

Referring now to FIGURE 1 of the drawing, a yarn support rod is shownintegrally mounted on a yarn support platform 12 on a circular rotatingtype knitting machine (not shown). The rod 10 is provided with aconnector which, in the embodiment shown, comprises a sleeve 14 mountedon its upper end. The sleeve 14 may be removably secured to the upperend 16 of rod 10 by means of a set screw 18, as shown in FIGURE 2, orelse the sleeve may be pinned permanently in that position, as desired.The sleeve 14 is provided with a centrally disposed bore 20, which, inthe embodiment shown, is provided with internal threads 22 extending atleast part-way therethrough, see FIGURE 2.

An extension rod 24 is provided. This extension rod preferably has apointed and threaded lower end 26 which is sized to penetrate and rotateinto threaded engagement with the threads 22 in sleeve 14 to form arigid extension of rod 10, see FIGURE 2. The upper end 28 of extensionrod 24 is fitted into a bore 30 in a connector which, in the embodimentshown, is a sleeve 32. The sleeve 32 is preferably permanently securedto the upper end 28 of rod 24 by a pin 34. The bore 30 in sleeve 32 isprovided with internal threads 36 extending part-way therethrough forreceiving the pointed and threaded lower end of still another extensionrod 24 (not shown). In this way, the length of the rod 10 may beextended as desired.

A steadying yarn support engaging and positioning member indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 38 is provided, see FIGURE 3. Member38, in the embodiment shown, comprises a sleeve 40 with a centrallydisposed bore 42. A transverse threaded bore 44 holding a set screw 46communicates with bore 42, see FIGURES 1 and 4. The bore 42 is sized toreceive rod 10 or extension rods 24. With this arrangement, member 38can be moved along the length of the rods, for reasons to be describedbelow. Member 38 is provided with oppositely extending arms 49 and 50which, in the embodiment shown, are integrally secured to sleeve 44,although this is not essential. The extreme ends of the arms are curvedas shown for reasons to become apparent below.

Yarn used with knitting machines is often wound around a conical tubularsupport 48 so that the windings of yarn are often described as cones ofyarn 51. However, yarn can be wound on other kinds of supports, such asa cylindrical support and, although the invention has been illustratedin connection with cones of yarn, it is understood that the inventionmay be applied to windings of yarn having other configurations.

Heretofore, cones of yarn 51 were simply fitted over the rods 19 on theknitting machine. However, as explained above, knitting machines carrynumerous cones of yarn and the yarn on these cones are used up atdifferent rates. Furthermore, as explained above, substantial damage andexpense can occur if a cone of yarn is permitted to be completely usedup while the machine continues to run.

With the structure described above, any number of cones of yarn (whichmay be differently shaped) can be stacked, one on top of the other, bysimply increasing the length of rod 10 by means of the extension rods 24and connectors 14 or 32 to accommodate the desired nuhmber of windingsof yarn to be stacked on top of each ot er.

An important feature of this invention is the ease with which the conesof yarn can be stacked and firmly held, one on top of the other. This isbecause the conical supports 48 around which the yarn is wound, isusually made of cardboard or some soft, plastic and is closed at theapex. If a single cone of yarn 51 is mounted on rod 10 and it appearsthat it will be used up before the run is completed, the knittingmachine can be stopped momentarily and the partially used cone of yarncan be removed and replaced by a full cone of yarn. Then, the pointed,lower end 26 of an extension rod 24 can be forced through the apex ofthe conical support 48 and down into bore 20 of sleeve 14 and theextension rod 24 can then be rotated into threaded engagement withthreads 22 in sleeve 14 to form a rigidly attached extension of rod 10extending above the apex of the full cone of yarn now on the rod 10 onthe knitting machine. Then, the partially used cone of yarn 51 can bemounted on the extension 24 of rod 10 over the full lower cone of yarnand the stacked cones of yarn can then be tied together. Furthermore,with this arrangement, any number of cones of yarn can be convenientlystacked and firmly held on top of each other by simply forcing thepointed, threaded, lower end of an extension rod 24 through the apex ofthe cone support 48 and rotating it into threaded engagement with thesleeve 32 on the lower extension rod and then placing a cone of yarnover the extension rod.

In addition to stacking the cones of yarn, one on top of the other, itis also important that the stacked cones of yarn be firmly held,particularly when the cones of yarn are mounted on a circular knittingmachine where the cones rotate around the axis of the machine. This isbecause the centrifugal forces to which the cones are subjected couldthrow the cones of yarn entirely off the machine. It is also importantto keep the cones of yarn from rotating on the rod 10, which couldhappen when the cones of yarn are subjected to vibration whether thecones of yarn rotate around the axis of the machine or not. To morefirmly and securely hold these cones of yarn on top of each other,steadying and positioning members 38 may be inserted on rod 10 or overthe extension rods 24, see FIGURE 1.

Members 38 are particularly useful when the knitting machines employcones of yarn 50 because members 38 can be moved up rod 10 or extensionrod 24 until the extreme ends 52 and 54 of arms 49 and 50 engage theinner surface of conical support 48, see FIGURE 3. With thisarrangement, the cones of yarn are firmly held at their point ofengagement with arms 49 and 50 and will not be able to move down theextension rod 24 onto rod 10. Of course, if the yarn is wound on acylindrical, tubular support, for example, the arms 49 and 50 could bemade extendible or they could be formed from a resilient, spring-likematerial so that they frictionally grip the inner surface of thecylindrical, tubular support at any point along the length of theextension rod.

Similarly, members 38 permit the cones of yarn to be mounted invertically staggered relationship, see FIG- URE 4. This is useful whenit is desired to stack extra thick cones of yarn on the machine and thespace between adjacent rods 10 is insufficient to accommodate the conesor other windings of yarn in side by side relationship. Consequently,the structure shown in FIGURE 2, comprising extension rod 24, member 38and connector 32 has a plural function in that it may be used as shownin FIG- URE l to securely stack any number of cones of yarn. one on topof the other, or it may be used as shown in FIGURE 4, to mount the conesor windings of yarn in vertically staggered relationship.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a knitting machine having a plurality of yarn support platformswith yarn support rods mounted on each platform, a stand rotatable aboutthe axis of the knitting machine, the yarn support platforms beingmounted on the rotatable stand, extension means for extending the lengthof said yarn support rods to any desired length. whereby any number ofwindings of yarn can be stacked one on top of the other, steadying andpositioning means adjustably connected to said extension means forengaging each of the windings of yarn whereby the windings of yarnstacked one on top of the other may be vertically positioned and arefirmly held and prevented from wobbling or falling off the knittingmachine or rotating on said yarn support rods.

2. The knitting machine described in claim 1 wherein said extensionmeans comprise extension rods, connectors connected to said extensionrods whereby the length of said yarn support rods can be extended asdesired.

3. The knitting machine described in claim 2 wherein said connectorscomprise sleeves, means for mounting said sleeves on said yarn supportrods, said sleeves having means for removably holding said extensionrods whereby the length of said yarn support rods can be extended asdesired.

4. The knitting machine described in claim 3 wherein said steadying andpositioning means comprise oppositely extending arms, the extreme endsof said arms shaped to engage the windings of yarn and means associatedwith said oppositely extending arms for adjustably positioning saidoppositely extending arms on said yarn support rod so that differentlyshaped windings of yarn can be firmly held on said yarn support rod.

5. The knitting machine described in claim 4 wherein said steadying andpositioning means comprises a sleeve member having said oppositelyextending arms integrally secured thereto and said windings of yarncomprise yarn wound on a conical tubular support, said sleeve memberhaving locking means for releasably locking said sleeve member along thelength of said yarn support rod whereby the oppositely extending arms ofthe steadying and positioning means can engage the inner surface of saidconical tubular support regardless of their shape to firmly hold theyarn wound on the conical tubular support on the yarn support rod.

6. In a circular knitting machine having a plurality of platformsmounted for rotation around the axis of the knitting machine with yarnsupport rods mounted on each platform, extension means for extending thelength of said yarn support rods to any desired length, means on saidextension means for holding windings of yarn in vertically staggeredrelationship to accommodate different sized windings of yarn or forstacking and firmly holding any number of said windings of yarn on saidyarn support rods.

7. In a circular knitting machine having a plurality of platforms withyarn support rods mounted on each platform, a stand rotatable about theaxis of the knitting machine and having the platforms mounted thereon,combined means for mounting adjacent cones of yarn in verticallystaggered relationship to accommodate different sizes of cones of yarnor for stacking and firmly holding any number of said cones of yarn onsaid yarn support rods, said combined means comprising extension rodsfor extending the length of said yarn support rods and cone engagingsteadying means, said cone engaging steadying means comprisingoppositely extending steadying surface members having releasable lockingmeans for adjustably locking said oppositely extending steadying surfacemembers anywhere along the length of said cone support rods whereby saidoppositely extending steadying surface members can be moved intoengagement with the inner surface of a conical tubular support on whichyarn is wound to firmly hold the cone of yarn on said yarn support rod.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,805,495 5/ 1931 McKean 242 XR2,283,373 5/1942 Krafit 242130.1 XR 2,460,753 2/ 1949 Kardos 242-1302,483,490 10/1949 Dix 242167 3,225,570 12/1965 Mishcon 66146 XR3,347,064 10/ 1967 Forca 66125 FOREIGN PATENTS 634,514 11/1927 France.1,133,509 6/1955 France.

807,424 6/ 1951 Germany.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

